Trolley switch



Oct. 27, 1942. w DQNALDSQN v 2,299,882

TROLLEY SWITCH Filed Deb. 27, 1940 Snventor BAY W Dmwmnson C(ttorneg Patented Oct. 27, 1942 TROLLEY SWITCH Ray W. Donaldson, Mansfield,

TheOhio Brass Company, Mansfield,

Ohio, assignor to Ohio, a

, corporation of New Jersey Application December 27, 1940, Serial No. 371,910

(Cl. 19l--3S) 5 Claims.

My invention relates to trolley switches adapted to form a part of an overhead system to guide a pair of current collectors mounted upon l a trolley bus along the main trolley wires or on to the branch wires at a turn-out point.

One object of my invention is to provide a switch which will respond to selective energization of its operating means, depending upon the direction of travel of the bus relative to the main trolley wires upon approaching the switch.

Another object is to provide a switch which will require only two contact devices, one in each main trolley wire, to be engaged singularly or together to secure selective operation of the switch.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and'novel overhead trolley system for bus operation to guide the current collectors on the trolley bus at a turn-out point.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for the selective operation of a trolley switch independent of the operation of the collectors relative to the contact devices.

Another object of my invention is to provide means to prevent the burning of the contacts associated with the switch when the contacts are opened under load.

Another object of my invention is to provide a system in which my improved switch forms a part.

Other objects of my invention will be described hereinafter and still other objects will be apparent.

In the past trolley switches for use in overhead systems, especially for trolley bus operation in which a pair of current collectors is used, have been suggested employing more than two contact devices in conjunction with the trolley wires and to be energized by the current collectors as they engage the respective contact devices, two at a time. Other switches have been proposed in which the operator of the vehicle must make use of his controller, which he uses in controlling the operation of the vehicle motors, at some predetermined point along the main trolley wires in advance of the collectors passing through the switch.

My present invention employs two contact devices, one associated with each main trolley wire of a two wire system and arranged to be automatically energized by the passing current collector as the contact devices engage the same singly or together. i

I place the contact devices in predetermined longitudinal relation to each other, that is, the

contact devices are so spaced longitudinally that the leaving end of the leading contact device is lit spaced longitudinally from the approach end of the other contact device. so that when the two current collectors are moving along the trolley wires and in an alignment at right angles thereto (see Fig. 2) that both contact devices will not be engaged at the same time by the current c01- lectors but when the bus travels at an angle to the main trolley wires to take the turn-out both contact devices will be engaged at the same time by the current collectors during a portion at least of the time the collectors are passing the contact devices.

My invention resides in the new and novel construction, combination and relation of the parts hereinafter described and shown in the drawing accompanying this specification.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a schematic arrangement of my invention showing the relation of the circuit control switches, relay and frog tongues, all forming a part of my invention when the switch is set for the turn-out position. I

Fig. 2 is a schematic arrangement of my invention showing the relation of the circuit control switches, relay and frog tongues, all forming a part of my invention-When the switch is set for the straight through position.

Fig. 3 shows schematically one arrangement of parts whereby the circuit control switch may be operated in synchronism with the operation of one of the frog tongues.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ a pair of trolley frogs A and B, held in spaced and insulated relation by insulating members I extending between the frogs. Each frog is provided with a pan 2-2 respectively and each pan has a movable tongue 3-3 respectively pivoted thereto at l. The tongues guide the current collectors 5--5' either straight through the frog or on to the branch wire depending upon the position of the tongues.

To the frogs are attached main trolley wires 6u" respectively of opposite polarity and branch wires l-'l'.

In order to operate the tongues 3-3 to either of their positions I use an electrically operated mechanism. I prefer to provide each frog with its own operating mechanism although a single operating mechanism may be employed to operate both tongues.

When two mechanisms are used each includes a pair of shunt wound coils, that is, the resistance of each coil is such that it may be electrically connected to the trolley wires carrying substantially the normal 600 volts. I prefer to connect in parallel that coil of each frog which functions alike in each case; if the coils are connected in series, then each coil will have one-half the resistance of each coil arranged to be connected in parallel.

A pair of coils S and T are mounted on each frog and reciprocating plungers 8-8 are mounted within the coils and are moved in one direction when coils S are energized and are moved in the other direction when coils T are energized.

The plungers B8 are arranged to operate the tongues 3--3' respectively and this may be effected by a link or lever 9 which is operated by the plunger 8, (see Fig. 3) causing it to pivot on the point Ii as it reciprocates and being fastened rigidly to the tongue 3 moves the tongue to either of its positions depending upon whether the coil S or coil T is energized, the coil S operating the tongue to the straight through position and the coil T operating the tongue to the turn-out position.

In order to efiect proper energization of the coils S and T, I employ two contact devices Ilil, one for each main trolley wire. Each contact device is energized as it is engaged by the current collectors 5-5 respectively which electrically connects the device to its trolley wire.

Thecontact devices are arranged as shown, and I it will be noted that when a bus is traveling straight through or parallel with the main trolley wires 66', as shown by the arrow H in Fig. 2, that the current collector 5 will first engage the contact device lil and later the collector 5' will engage the contact device Iii but both contact devices will not be engaged at the same time; the leaving end of the leading contact i6 is spaced longitudinally from the approach end of the contact 10' by the distance so an amount I sufficient to permit the collector 5 to pass the contact device It] before the contact I0 is engaged by the collector 5', whereby no energiza tion of the coils will be effected when the contact I0 is energized alone and energization of the coils S will be efiected when the contact device I9 is energized and the tongues 33' moved to their straight through positions.

When a bus is traveling along at an angle to the main trolley wire in order to make a turn,

as' shown by the arrows l2-IZ', then both contact devices Ill-4t will be energized at the same time and the coils T will be energized to move the tongues 33 to their turn-out position.

By making the contact [3 longer than the contact Hi, the angle which the bus may take relative to the main trolley wires is anywhere between that shown by the arrow lines 12-12.

The current collectors 5-4 of Fig. l are shown just after they have passed the contacts llll0' on an angle corresponding to the arrow 12 and in which case it will be evident that the contact It) was deenergized prior to the contact It} being deenergized; therefore, there is no danger of the coils S being energized and the tongues moved to their straight through positions, as would be the case if the contact I i] is deenergized prior to the deenergization of the contact l9.

' To further control the energization of the coils S and T and the operation of the electrically operated mechanism, I employ a circuit control switch C having two insulated metallic arms l3 and M which are movable out of engagement with the fixed contacts I 5 and i6 respectively by the lever 9 which is provided with an insulated knob ll in order to maintain the contact arms l3 and I l insulated from the pan 2 on which the switch 0 is preferably mounted; the insulation l8, also, assists in maintaining the insulated status of the switch C as the contacts l5 and IE must also be insulated from the pan 2, since it is of the same polarity as the trolley wires 6 and l. The arms l3 and it may be of resilient material such as phosphor bronze which will effect engagement of the arms l3'-l4' with the contacts I5 and l 6 respectively when the lever B shifts its position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

To further control the energization of the coils S and T and the operation of the electrically operated mechanism, I employ an electrically operated relay switch D which may be mounted in any convenient manner on the frog B or on the insulated spacers l or even on a pole remote from the switch as its operation does not depend upon the operation of the frogs AB.

The relay switch D opens and closes the circuits tothe coils but not in the same manner as the contact switch C, as the relay switch is directly controlled by the energizaticn of the contact devices Iii-iii while the switch C is controlled by the electrically operated mechanism, as shown in Fig. 3.

The relay switch D comprises two contacts iii-23 normally held closed by the bridging member 2! and spring 22. The contacts 23 and 24 are connected by the member 2| when the coil 25 is energized as, for instance, when the contact devices I Ill0' are both engaged and energized at the same time as is the case when a bus angles off to make a turn (Fig. 1).

Having described the construction of my invention and the relation of the various parts, the connections between the parts are as follows:

The coils S are connected to the contact device it by the conductor 3i and to the negative trolley wire 6 by means of conductors 3i and 32 with the interposed circuit control member l4l6- iQ-iZlJ-Zl.

The coils T are connected to the contact device It by the conductors 3334 and to the positive trolley wires 6-l' by the conductors 35-36 with the interposed circuit control members l3-l5 and (when coil 25 is energized) the control members 2423-2|. The relay coil 25 is connected between the contact device Iii-40' by the conductors 33-37-38-35).

It is evident that the relay coil 25 is energized only when both contact devices lilll' are energized at the same time.

The coils S are energized only when the contact It is energized.

The relay D may be said to be a selective relay or switch, since it is the member which determines which pair of coils will be energized, depending upon the direction of travel of the bus relative to the main trolley wires, and cooperates with the contact devices lfl-lii in its selective function.

Fig. 1 shows the setting of the various parts just after a bus has passed the switch and made the turnout.

Fig. 2 shows the setting of the various parts just after a bus has passed a switch going straight through.

If a bus wishes to pass the switch in Fig. 1 and take the turn-out, the two control devices Iii-IE1 will be energized at the same tim and the relay coil 25 will be energized thus closing the contacts 23-24 and opening the contacts Iii-20 and take the main trolley wire, the contact device it) will be first engaged by the collector 5, but this will effect no operation of the switch because the circuit to the coils S will be open at H! and the circuit through the coils T will be opened at relay D; when the vehicle moves forward and the contact It is engaged by the collector 5", the coils T will not be energized because the circuit therethrough is still open at It), relay D and switch C, but the coils S will now be energized because its circuit is closed at it! and the tongue will be rznoved to its straight through position (see Fig.

If the members of the switch are in the relation shown in Fig. 2 and abus desires to go straight through, the contact it will first be energized but the coils S and T will not be energized because the circuit through the coils S is open at H! and at C and the circuit through coils T is opened at D; when the bus has moved forward the contact Ill will be deenergiced and the circuit through the coils T will be open at ill and D; however, the contact It" will be energized alone thus closing the circuit through the coils S at the contact Ill but as the circuit is open at C, the coils S will not be energized and the tongues 33 will not be moved from their al ready set position of straight through.

If the bus wishes to pass the switch in Fig. 2

and take the turn-out, then both contacts iii-t l will be energized and the relay coil 25 energized and the contacts 'Ji3-2 l closed, thus opening the circuit at D through the coils S and closing the circuit at 1) through the coils T and as both contacts lfiili' are energized at the same time, the circuit is complete throughithe coils T and the coils T will be energized and the tongues ii-4i moved to their turn-out positions.

In order to destroy the destructive eifect of the arc which will be produced at the contacts of switch C relay D when opened under load, I connect between the conductors 3i and 32 and between the conductors 35' and 86, open circuit condensers id-t6 respectively, which will absorb the energy between the contacts of C and D when opened under load and thus reduce or eliminate destruction of the contacts.

In order to prevent the condenser discharging the absorbed energy between the contacts of switches C and D as they are about to close, I introduce resistances 41 and 4-8 in series with the condensers thus limiting materially therate of discharge between the contacts. Each con denser and its resistance are connected at all times across the contacts of the switch C and relay D.

The switch C is preferably mounted on one of the frog pans and insulated therefrom and oper atedprimarily by the electrically operated mechanism.

In Fig. 2, I have represented a vehicle control circuit with its controller Y and motors Z; while the controller Y is not made use of in my pres ent invention, it is used in several switching systems now on the market'and has been referred to hereinbefore.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. in a switching system for a pair of current collectors mounted on a vehicle, in combination a pair of main trolley wires of opposite polarity and a branch wire from each main wire, a trolley frog at the intersection of each main and branch wire to guide a current collector on the vehicle either along the main wire or on to the branch wire, each frog provided with a movable tongue forming guiding means for the current collectors and electrically operated mechanism including a pair of coils adapted to be alternately energized and move each tongue to its opposite positions, circuits connecting the coils to a source of curductor or on to the branch rent supply, control means for said coils arranged to be opened and closed by the operation of the electrically operated mechanism in synchronism with the movement of the tongues whereby the said control means opensthe circuit to one of the coils of each pair and closes the circuit to the other coil of each pair and vice versa, each main trolley wire having associated therewith a contact device arranged to be en aged by a passing current collector and. each device connected to its trolley wire and energized through said engagement, one contact arranged to be engaged by its current collector in advance of the other contact device being engaged by its collector when the vehicle on which the collectors are mounted moves in al rent with or parallel to the main trolley wires and only one contact being engaged atone me, the contacts also being so positioned relati ly, and longitudinally of other that both contacts will be in engagement at one time with the cur-- rent collectors when the vehicle moves at an angle to the main trolley wires as in making turn, the contact devices f rming a or the said circuits connected to the coils, an electrically operated relay switch to control the aiore circuits and arranged to be no with respect to the circuit to one co" frog and opened with rcspect'to the circ it to the other coil of each frog but the operation of the relay switch eing reversed when the contact devices are both energized at the same tirfoe, the relay switch operating to normally close the circuit to the coils controlling the operation of the tongues to their main line positions oper ating to close the circuit to the coils controlling the operation of the tongues to their turn-out positions when both contact devices are energized at one time, the saidcontrol means being arranged to'close the circuit to the coils ontrclling the operation of the tongues to their niain line positions when the tongues are the turnout positions and to close the circuit to the coils controlling the operation or" the tongues'to their turn-out positions when the tongues are intheir main line position, whereby the tongues will be moved to the main line positions when 0 e of the contact devices is energized and moved to the turn-out positions when both contact devices are energized at one time.

2. A switching system for a pair of current collectors mounted on a vehicle, comprising in combination, a pair of main conductors of opposite polarity and a branch conductor from each main conductor, a trolley frog positioned at the junction of each ,main and branch conductors and each frog having a movable tongue to guide the current collectors either along the main conconductor and mech anism including a pair of coils when energized to operate its tongue to either of its opposite posi-- tions, each main conductor provided with a contact device arranged to be engaged by and energized from its conductor by a passing current collector, a pair of energizing circuits, each cir cult connected to a like functioning coil on each frog and connecting each pair of connected coils to a different contact device and to the; oppo; site conductor, a circuit controlling meahs'con nected to and interposed in said circuits to con: rol the energization of the circuits, the last said means being normally closed with respect to one circuit and open with respect to the other effectits actuation circuit and having an operating coil connectedto both'contact devices to to selectively determine which pair of connected coils on the frogs it is desired to energize, the energization of the operating coil of the said circuit controlling means being eiiected only when the current collectors are in engagement with both contact devices at the same time but not when only one contact device is energized at a time.

3. In an overhead trolley system to guide a pair of current collectors mounted on a vehicle at a turn-out, the combination of a pair of main conductors of opposite polarity and a branch conductor for each main conductor, a trolley frog at the junction of each main and branch conductor to guide a current collector on the vehicle either along the main conductor or on to the branch conductor, electrically operated mechanism including a pair of operating coils for one frog to move the tongue thereof to either of its positions, the coils arranged to be alternately energized, circuits connecting the coils to a source of current supply, a contact device associated with each main conductor and interposed in the said circuits, the contacts being so related longitudinally to each other as to effect the energization of one or the other of the circuits when one or both of the said contact devices are engaged by the current collectors depending upon the direction of travel of the vehicle relative to the main conductors, a circuit control relay including a switch portion and an operating coil which is connected to both of the contact devices and which is energized and the relay operative only when both the contact devices are energized, the relay switch portion being interposed in the said circuits and together with the contact devices selectively controlling the energization of the circuits depending upon the energization of the said relay operating coil whereby either one coil will be energized when only one of the contact devices is energized to move the tongue to its main line position and the other of said pair of coils will be energized when both contact devices are energized at the same time to move the tongue to its turn-out position depending upon the energization of said contact devices, a circuit control means also interposed in said circuits and operating in synchronism with the movement of the tongue to deenergize the energized coil after the tongue has moved to its desired position and to place the other circuit in condition to be energized and the tongue moved to its other pSltion, and means to move the tongue of the other frog simultaneously with said one tongue.

4. In an overhead switching system for a pair of current collectors mounted on a vehicle, in combination, a pair of main conductors of opposite polarity and a branch wire for each main conductor, a trolley frog at the junction of each main and branch conductor and provided with a movable tongue to guide the current collectors on the vehicle either along the main conductors or on to the branch conductors, electrically operated mechanism including a pair of coils for actuating the tongue of one frog to its opposite positions, a single contact device associated with each main conductor to be electrically connected to its conductor upon the passage of one of said current collectors therealong, the contact devices being so arranged longitudinally relative to each other that one contact device will be engaged and energized prior to the other contact device being engaged and energized as when the vehicle moves parallel to the main conductors and both contact devices will be energized at the same time only when the vehicle moves at an angle to the main conductors, a circuit for one coil connecting it to one of the contact devices and to the opposite conductor, a circuit for the other coil connecting it to the other contact device and to the other conductor, a circuit controlling relay cooperating with the contact devices to selectively control the energization of the circuits and thereby control the selective energization of the said coils, the said relay being provided with an operating coil connected to both contact devices whereby the relay is selectively controlled depending upon the manner of engagement of the current collectors with the contact devices whereby the tongue on said one frog is moved to one predetermined position when both contact devices are in engagement with the current collectors at the same time and the tongue is moved to its other position when only one of the aforesaid contacts is in engagement with one of said current collectors, and means to move the tongue of the other frog simultaneously with said one tongue.

5. In a switching system for a pair of current collectors mounted on a vehicle, in combination, a pair of main trolley wires of opposite polarity and a branch wire from each main wire, a trolley frog at the intersection of each main and branch wire to guide a current collector on the vehicle either along the main wire or on to the branch Wire, one frog provided with a movable tongue forming a guiding means for a current collector and an electrically operated mechanism including a pair of coils adapted to be alternately energized and move the frog tongue to its opposite positions, circuits connecting the coils to a source of current supply, control means for said coils arranged to be opened and closed by the operation of the electrically operated mechanism in synchronism with the movement of the tongue whereby the said control means opens the circuit to one of the coils and closes the circuit to the other coil and vice versa, each main wire having associated therewith a contact device arranged to be engaged by a passing current collector and each device connected to its trolley wire and energized through said engagement, one contact device arranged to be engaged by a current collector in advance of the other contact device being engaged by its collector when the Vehicle on which the collectors are mounted moves in alignment with or parallel to the main trolley wires and only one contact being engaged at one time, the contacts also being so positioned relatively and longitudinally of each other that both contacts will be in engagement at one time with the current collectors when the vehicle moves at an angle to the main wires as in making a turn, the contact devices forming a part of the said circuits being connected to the coils, an electrically operated relay switch to control the aforesaid circuits and arranged to be normally closed with respect to the circuit to one coil and opened with respect to the circuit to the other coil and the operation of the relay switch being reversed when the contact devices are both energized at the same time by the current collectors, whereby the tongue will be moved to the said one position when one of the contact devices is energized and moved to the said other position when both contact devices are energized at one time, and means to move the tongue of the other frog simultaneously with and in like manner to the first said tongue.

RAY W. DONALDSON. 

